Wreck on I-81 kills Va. man

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A 70-year-old Winchester, Va. man died Sunday afternoon after his truck went into a ditch and caught fire on southbound Interstate 81, officials said.

The accident happened shortly after 4 p.m. when the man's red 1990 Jeep Comanche Sportruck came off the right side of the roadway, went into a ditch and ran into a low concrete wall near the railroad trestle overpass north of the W.Va. 9 exit.

The man was pulled from the burning vehicle by passing out-of-state firefighters and then taken by ambulance to Martinsburg City Hospital, said a member of the Bedington Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department.

The victim was pronounced dead at 4:45 p.m. at City Hospital, said police.

Police were withholding the victim's name Sunday night pending notification of his family.

The impact crumpled the front end of the truck and the truck's interior was left charred by the flames. The accident slowed traffic on southbound I-81 for about an hour while workers cleared the scene.

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The accident is under investigation by the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department.